Name: Plum Pudding
Ingredients: ¾ pound raisins; ¾ pound currants; ½ pound candied orange, lemon, and citron; 1¼ pounds chopped beef suet; 1 pound flour; ¾ pound moist sugar; 4 eggs; 1½ cups milk; grated rind of 2 lemons; ½ ounce nutmeg; ½ ounce cinnamon; ½ ounce cloves; ⅓ cup brandy; a little coarse sea salt

Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,075 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,180 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Raisin + orangetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,684 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour: Provides the main structure that holds the pudding together as it steams.
Eggs: Bind the mixture and help it set firm during the long boil.
Beef suet: Adds fat that keeps the pudding moist and rich as it cooks.
Raisins: Add sweetness and chewy texture throughout the pudding.
Moist sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps give a dark, rich colour.
Milk: Adds moisture so the batter-like mixture holds together and is not dry.

The step that matters

Boil the pudding for 4½ hours. The pudding is cooked by steam in a wrapped mold, so the water must keep boiling steadily for the full time. If it drops to a low simmer or the pot boils dry, the centre stays wet and the pudding can be uneven or heavy.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, orange, lemon, beef, flour, sugar, egg):

Figfits better
Vanillafits better
Cranberryfits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, orange, lemon, beef, flour, sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.